Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Cajun Beef Boulettes, a well seasoned beef and pork meatball, simmered in a roux based gravy, usually include a little surprise of garlic, button mushroom or even an olive tucked up inside.

Mary's Cajun Beef & Pork Boulettes with Brown Sauce

Boulettes is French for pellet or ball, and can be made with just about any type of ground meat or seafood. They are sometimes formed into patties instead of balls. Cajun Beef Boulettes include a little surprise of garlic, button mushroom or even an olive tucked up inside. Many Cajun cooks brown their boulettes in a pan first, then deglaze the pan with wine or stock and create a sauce, adding chunky peppers and onion to the stew.

Others flour and fry their boulettes. I prefer to finely chop up the veggies by hand, because I tend to turn them into mush with the food processor, and then add them in the meat mixture. I also prefer to stew the boulettes slow and long in a roux (what else?!) instead of precooking them. I think both of these produce a very tender and delicious meatball.

These do take some effort, so it's not a dish for the weekday if you're away from home at the office all day, but let me tell you, these are some kind of good and you won't be sorry for the effort! Since this recipe calls for a roux, follow the link to see how to make an oven roux.

You can do this ahead and have it on hand, or just do it right before you make up the boulettes. And, of course, you can just do a roux on the stovetop too, but for a deep, dark roux like this, you just cannot beat the oven method. You'll want to make at least a cup of roux, and we'll start here with the roux already made.

Here's how to make some bullets!

Add 1-1/2 quarts of water to a stockpot and warm it slightly, then slowly whisking in the room temperature roux.* Bring it to a boil and boil for about 5 minutes; reduce heat to medium and let it simmer while you form the boulettes.

Finely chop up the onion, celery, green bell pepper, red bell pepper, and parsley. Slice the green onion super thin. Transfer it all into a large mixing bowl.

Stir it all together. Doesn't that look so fresh and good enough to just eat like that?

Add a pound of ground beef and a pound of ground pork to the veggie mixture.

Peel some garlic and set it aside either whole, or if you prefer, sliced. You'll be stuffing those into your boulettes here in a bit, so its a personal preference. Gather the seasonings - basil, one egg, salt, pepper, and bread crumbs.

Add the seasonings to the meat and veggies and mix well together. Add in just a splash of heavy cream.

Flatten the meat into the bowl.

I do this so that I can score the meat into quarters. I just find that this makes it easier to get more even balls since you'll form 3 boulettes from each quarter, for a total of 12. It's a lot easier than trying to pull out the right amount from a big blob of meat! To score the meat, I just used the same bench scraper that I use to pick up and transfer the cut up vegetables with.

Form the mixture into 12 large boulettes and set them aside.

Insert either a whole small garlic clove or sliced garlic cloves into each boulette. Push it in, pinch the hole together and round out the ball again.

Carefully drop the boulettes into the roux and once it begins to bubble up again, reduce heat to a medium low to low simmer, occasionally lightly shaking and swirling the pan in order to toss and turn the boulettes. You can also use a spoon to turn them, but I find that just the gentle shimmy once in awhile seems to do the trick!

Simmer uncovered for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, until cooked through.

Sprinkle the pot with some dried crushed red pepper flakes just before you serve the boulettes. Serve with some of the brown sauce over hot, cooked rice.

In a 4 quart stockpot, add the water and stir in the room temperature roux and bring to a boil. Start with 3/4 cup but add more roux if needed to achieve the desired thickness; boil for 5 minutes; reduce to medium.

Combine all of the remaining ingredients, except for the garlic and red pepper flakes, and shape into 12 large balls. Insert a slice of the raw garlic into each meatball, pinch closed and roll the ball a bit more to tighten it. Put the raw meatballs in the sauce and once it returns to a bubble again, reduce the heat to a low to medium low simmer, and cook the meatballs for 1-1/2 to 2 hours.

Sprinkle with a few dashes of dried crushed red pepper flakes and/or Cajun seasoning, and serve over rice with some of the brown sauce. Add a side of steamed green beans or a nice garden salad to round it out.

Cook's Notes: This recipe uses a pre-made roux that has been cooked ahead and cooled, so if you're using a refrigerated roux, you'll want to bring 1 cup of the roux up to room temperature, rather than use it straight out of the fridge. Then add the room temperature roux to a pot of warmed water, not hot water. Of course, you can certainly do the roux on the fly when you need it. When I do use a hot roux, I find it helps to just slightly warm the water first and then slowly whisk the water a little at a time into the hot roux, until it is incorporated. Don't add boiling hot water to just made roux - it's just too dangerous.

Traditionally, beef boulettes are stuffed with a small whole clove of garlic, or sometimes a small button mushroom or an olive, and then the meat is wrapped tight to seal it in. Since my husband doesn't care at all for olives, nor does he like big chunks of mushroom or garlic in his food, I slice up the garlic cloves into smaller slivers and then insert them. He doesn't seem to notice them that way!

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

Jennifer, they are very tender - I think the combination of meats helps but also all those veggies and the little touch of cream.

Joyce, the oven roux is a definite winner!

Rebel, I'm sure he's gonna love 'em!! Now a typical side dish to this is most often white beans believe it or not, often Blue Runner cream style right out of the can. So good, but I didn't want 2 starches. People often eat the boulettes on the side and the rice and beans together! If y'all like garlic, go for a whole or at least a half of a clove in each ball. Hubs freaks out over slivers of garlic in anything, even though they get nice and soft and practically melt into the meat. He's wierd like that LOL! Me, I'd stick a whole clove in but then I'd lose track of which balls were mine! Oh...LOL...

I'm not funny... I'm just TIRED lol :) I totally love garlic so I love 'em like that too, and they're big balls so they can take the whole clove and are yummy. LOL. Shoot, I can eat garlic by itself when it's roasted! And you're right, it IS good for ya.

Hi Krista! You're so welcome. Cajun and Creole foods are a big part of living along the Gulf Coast whether it's Texas or Florida or somewhere in between. A lot of people think that automatically means it's super spicy and mouth-burnin' hot, but that's just not true. Course it can be, if ya like it super hot, but it doesn't mean it automatically is. It's all about flavor, and often layers of flavors - like this dish that starts with a very dark and flavorful roux and ends with a mighty moist meatball that is just loaded down with veggies and has a nice chunk of garlic surprise inside!!

Just found your blog! I am real glad that I did! So many wonderful flavours of of the South and Cajun country that I was fortunate enough to sample during my college years! Now throu your help i can enjoy them again!

I think I am going to try this recipe tonight! and hope you donnot mind I added you to my blogroll! =) Cheers!

Hi Heni! Thanks for stopping by - hope you find some favorites here. Let me know if you have any questions.

These boulettes are sooooo good and fantastic on a pistolette sandwich as leftovers too. ;) Enjoy. Thanks for following my blog - please let me know your blog address since your profile isn't public, and I will be happy to reciprocate!

OMG Mary I made your meatballs last night for dinner! Only thing I did different is used all veal instead of pork. This was such a wonderfully enjoyable meal- my husband even asked for seconds which he rarely does!

My blog is:http://simplicitybythesea.blogspot.com/

If you want to check me out! Since you said it is ok to link you! I am taking your badge and linking you!!!

Just a couple weeks ago, a misplaced Cajun friend asked me if I ever made these. I had never heard of them, so when I saw this recipe I knew I had to try them. Five people for dinner, 5 double thumbs up!! Thanks!

My boulettes are simmering away and smell delicious. My Mom passed away when I was 14, so, I didn't get the chance to learn everything she knew about cooking, Cajun especially since we lived in Lafayette.

Deep South Dish has so many of the recipes that my Mom used to make. My family has lived in Louisiana since the mid-1700's so these are some long cherished recipes in our family. I'm 54, so, a lot of the recipes died with the family members.

So, I am really, really happy to find this blog. It's like bringing my family back.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

From time to time, anonymous restrictions and/or comment moderation may be activated due to comment spam. I also reserve the right to edit, delete or otherwise exercise total editorial discretion over any comments left on this blog.

Hey Y’all! Welcome to some good ole, down home southern cooking. Pull up a chair, grab some iced tea, and 'sit a bit' as we say down south. If this is your first time visiting Deep South Dish, you can sign up for FREE updates via EMAIL or RSS feed, or you can catch up with us on Facebook and Twitter too!

You don’t have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces – just good food from fresh ingredients. ~Julia Child

The classic southern plate for supper is made up of meat and three, cornbread or rolls & a tall glass of sweet iced tea.

Oftentimes what makes a recipe southern, is as much a state of mind as it is a matter of geography - Southerners simply decide a particular food is southern, and that's that." ~Rick McDaniel, Food Historian

DISCLAIMER: This is a recipe site intended for entertainment. By using this site and these recipes you agree that you do so at your own risk, that you are completely responsible for any liability associated with the use of any recipes obtained from this site, and that you fully and completely release Mary Foreman and Deep South Dish LLC and all parties associated with either entity, from any liability whatsoever from your use of this site and these recipes.

ALL CONTENT PROTECTED UNDER THE DIGITAL MILLENNIUM COPYRIGHT ACT. CONTENT THEFT, EITHER PRINT OR ELECTRONIC, IS A FEDERAL OFFENSE. Recipes may be printed ONLY for personal use and may not be transmitted, distributed, reposted, or published elsewhere, in print or by any electronic means. Seek explicit permission before using any content on this site, including partial excerpts, all of which require attribution linking back to specific posts on this site. I have, and will continue to act, on all violations.